


Great Oak School for Boys

by theoldwillweep



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Minor Violence, i’ll update the tags as i go???, jack and crutchie are brothers!! :-), rated for language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-12-27 02:10:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18294737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoldwillweep/pseuds/theoldwillweep
Summary: Davey’s parents make the decision to send him to Great Oak School for Boys, to his great displeasure. To make a bad situation worse, he gets stuck in detention with Jack Kelly.~a newsies boarding school au





	1. Chapter 1

         Stepping out of the car, David Jacobs stares up at the almost intimidating school that he will call home for the next several months.

         Behind him, his mother collects his suitcase from the trunk while other students mill around, saying quick goodbyes to their own parents before eagerly bounding into the school’s front doors.  

         With an anxious huff, David says “Are you sure about this, mama?”

         His father answers him instead, with a pressed “David, we’ve been over this. We want what’s best for you, and this school is what’s best for you. Imagine the opportunities you’ll receive at this school!”

         David knows that his father is right, but another glance at the building in front of him reminds him that he’s too afraid to care.

         His mother comes around the car to where he’s standing, dropping his suitcase at his feet. She takes his face in her hands, and soothingly rubs the pad of her thumb against his cheek.

         “I know that you’re scared David, but this is good for you. You don’t have many friends, or any at all for that matter—“

         “ _Mom_ ,” he says through gritted teeth, glancing around at his fellow students to see if any of them overheard.

         “—and I just _know_ that you’ll make some here,” she continues, ignoring her son.

         “How would _you_ know,” David grumbles under his breath.

         “Mother’s intuition,” she jokes.

         She presses a kiss against his hair, and whispers “I love you, David.”

         “I love you too, mama,” he sighs.

         After giving his father a hug, he makes the walk from their car to the front of the school.

         When he turns around, his parents are already gone.

         Steeling himself, David pulls open the door, and walks in.   

* * *

         The sound of David’s shoes echoes against the near empty tiles, most students having already found their dormitory rooms.

         Surveying the halls tells David that the lingering students aren’t lost, like him, but only reconnecting with friends that were long forgotten after the much-awaited, and needed, summer break.

         Seeing the boys talk so comfortably with one another reminds him of how much he wishes he wasn’t here.

         Thinking back on it, it was never really his decision, as much as his parents like to believe it was. 

         After receiving a letter in the mail, Mayer and Esther Jacobs decided that applying for the boarding school’s scholarship was a grand idea, possibly the grandest that they’d ever had. David thought quite the opposite.

         No, David didn’t have friends, other than his elder sister and younger brother, but he was content with that. He was content with the fact that the only conversations he had at school were with his teachers, where every single one of them was glad to hold one with him. He was content with the fact that he would never acquaint with his peers, who had nothing more to offer than icy cold glares. 

         What David wasn’t content with, however, was the stark contrast between what his parents wanted him to pursue after high school, and what he wanted to pursue.

         David’s parents wanted him to attend Greak Oak for the sole purpose of the school paving the path for him to a great college. That sounded great to David, but the one thing that didn’t was his parents’ expectations for him. Lawyer, dentist, scientist, anything and everything “respectable”. And that had been David’s dream, too. Or so he thought. On his first day of English class, freshman year of high school, David met Mr. Denton, who encouraged him to join the school newspaper. Writing was always something that David was good at, but never really took an interest in. However, when Denton relayed the information that it would look _fantastic_ on his college resume, he signed up in a heartbeat. From there, he discovered the untapped joy that was writing what _he_ wanted to write, and he’s longed to be a reporter ever since. When he informed his parents of his newfound love for writing, they simply laughed it off, assuring him that no respectable man went into a career such as that. He tried to argue, but a stern look from each of his parents reminded him that he didn’t really have a say in the matter.

         David loved his parents, he truly did, he just wished that they would listen once in a while.

         David wandered for only a few more minutes before a voice interrupted his inner thoughts.

         “Hey, are you lost?”

         David almost didn’t turn around, for when people are speaking, it most often isn’t directed at him. 

         When he did, however, he was greeted by a boy with golden hair who was held up by a crutch, only a few inches shorter than he was. The first thing that David noticed, however, was not his crutch, but his sunny complection, the warm smile that was directed at _him_. It was so different than the glares he received at home, and it was certainly a nice change of pace.

         “Yeah, how could you tell?” David smiled awkwardly.

         “Well, I’d like to believe that I’m friends with everyone here, and I’ve never seen you before! Want me to show ya where to go?” the boy said, radiating friendly energy.

         “That would be great,” David replied, trying to not to let on how excited he was at the prospect of a new friend. “I’m David, by the way.”

         “Nice to meet ya, David! I’m Charlie, but most people call me Crutchie,” he said, referring to his crutch.

         David looked at him skeptically and opened his mouth to say something, but Crutchie quickly cut him off by saying “Seriously, it’s okay! I like it,” with another bright smile.

         The two made their way down to the student center to pick up David’s schedule and rooming information, chatting pleasantly along the way.

         David thanked the kind woman for his schedule once he received it, and Crutchie peered over his shoulder while he skimmed through it.

         “Oh, no,” Crutchie frowned upon seeing who David’s roommate was, the first time that David had seen the boy be anything but happy since meeting him. Admittedly, it had only been approximately ten minutes, but David could tell that making the other boy upset was a hard feat to achieve.

         “What?” David inquired, a feeling of dread making itself at home in the pit of his stomach.

         “You got Oscar Delancey as your roommate; that boy’s bad news,” Crutchie simply stated, not elaborating any further.

         The feeling of dread burrowed itself deeper inside of David. “I’m sure I’ll manage,” he replied, cursing at how his voice wavered.

         “Let me walk ya,” Crutchie offered, a sad smile on his face.

         The two walked in silence as they ascended the stairs, the topic of Oscar Delancey clearly striking a chord within Crutchie.

         Once they reached the door, Crutchie gave a quick goodbye, not desiring to see the person who was inevitably waiting behind the door. David attempted to thank him, but Crutchie surprised him with how fast he could move while using the crutch when he turned around to discover that the boy was already gone. 

         Sighing, David raised a trembling hand to the door.

         He turned the knob slowly, then pushed it open in one quick motion, as if he was ripping off a baindaid.

         The room was empty.

         He let out a sigh of relief, glad that no one was there to witness the blatant act of peculiarity. 

         Wasting no time, David quickly unpacked his belongings, constantly tense, as if Oscar Delancey would walk in at any moment and pummel him to death simply for existing.

         He found himself on his bed, leg frantically bouncing up and down, fear-stricken by the thought of meeting the boy deemed “bad news” by what seemed to be the physical embodiment of sunshine and happiness. 

         To busy himself, he skimmed over the code of conduct issued to him by the school. 

**GREAT OAKS SCHOOL FOR BOYS CODE OF CONDUCT**

  1. All boys are to be in their own dormitory rooms by 8 p.m., lights out by 11 p.m. 
  2. Students are expected to rouse themselves at 6 a.m. An authoritative figure will make rounds to ensure that each student is awake. They will knock twice, and if the student does not answer but the second knock, the authoritative figure is permitted to enter the room of the student in question.
  3. No sexual relations between students, or between students and staff.
  4. Uniforms are to be worn at all times during school hours.
  5. No roughousing.
  6. No goods from outside sources unless they are approved in advance by the administration.
  7. No recreational drug use.
  8. No contact with outside sources during school hours. 



         The list continued on, and the rules seemed fair enough, though a bit jail-like.

         With a glance at his phone, the time read 5:56. 

         David sighed as he layed down, wringing his hands anxiously. He figured that a nap couldn’t hurt before dinner.

         He didn’t realize how tired he was until his head hit the pillow.

         

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed, follow me on tumblr @theoldwillweep! :)


	2. Chapter 2

         David woke to his alarm, which read 6:00 a.m.

         Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he realized that he had slept through the entire night, completely skipping dinner.

         Anxiously, he slowly gazed over to the bed adjacent to his, expecting to see Oscar there.

         However, it was still empty.

         David’s mind was racing, unsure of what that could mean.

         He was startled out of his reverie by a knock on his door. Deciding not to wait until the second knock, he lept out of bed, and threw open the door.

         The door revealed an aging man with a mustache, grimace on his face. He said nothing, only simply nodding his head before moving onto the next door.

         After gently shutting the door, careful not disturb any still slumbering boys, he took another look at his schedule.

 **Breakfast** \- **7** : **00** **a**. **m**.

 **Classes** **Begin** \- **7** : **30** **a**. **m**.

         Deciding not to dawdle, David layed out the uniform that the school supplied him with.

         The uniform was fairly simple: a crisp white button down shirt, a striped tie, a royal blue blazer embroidered with the school’s crest, khaki pants, and dress shoes.

         He ventured down the hall to the communal restroom to tidy up, where the countless number of rowdy, shirtless boys around him made him uncomfortable for inexplicable reasons.

         David made his way down at 7:00 a.m. precisely, the only other student in the cafeteria being Crutchie.

         The boy waved him over from his place at a large table excitedly, and David happily obliged.

         Taking a seat, David prompted “What’s got you down here so early?”

         “Easier to beat the morning rush if you’re early!” the boy exclaimed, raising his bum leg up for David to see. He nodded his head, signaling that he understood.

          “Oh, by the way, how’d things go with Oscar? You’re here, so I assume it wasn’t too bad, yeah?” Crutchie asked.

          “He actually, uh, never showed up.”

         “Weird...” Crutchie said, adopting a quizzical look.

         Other boys began to filter in slowly, and Crutchie was practically bouncing in his seat. “I’m real excited for you to meet my other friends!”

         First, a few boys took a seat at the table with them. Then, a couple more. But then, they just kept coming.

          _Now_ _I_ _know_ _what_ _he_ _meant_ _by_ ‘ _friends_ _with_ _everyone_ ’, David thought with a grimace.

         Soon, the table was filled up with twenty or so boys, who all seemed to be already well acquainted with each other.

         Crutchie hushed the group of rambunctious adolescents, and they silenced themselves obediently.

         “Listen up, everyone! This here is my pal, David! David, this is Race, Albert, Elmer, Henry, Specs....” and he continued on, listing every single boy sat at the table. 

         David’s head was swimming, trying and failing to keep up with all of the strange names that he was currently being bombarded with. 

         “And I think that’s everyone!” Crutchie smiled, prompting David to release a breath that he didn’t know he was holding. “Wait!” Crutchie exclaimed looking around at the table, and David tensed again, wishing that this Name Nightmare would be over. 

         “Where’s Jack?” Crutchie frowned, eyes grazing over the room’s entrances and exits.

         “Dumbass got himself sent to the headmaster’s office,” Race snickered, one of the only boys that David had remembered from the initial introductions. 

         “Again?” Crutchie sighed, face falling further.

         As if on cue, the cafeteria doors opened to reveal an exceptionally aggrieved, albeit handsome, boy. A man followed closely behind him, and David recognized him as the same man that woke him up barely an hour ago.

         The man followed him all the way to the table that the large group of boys was seated at, shoving him with a scowl. “Don’t let me see you again today, Kelly,” the man growled.

         “Spider givin’ you shit again, Jack?” Albert asked, but received no reply from the boy.

         “What happened, Jack?” Crutchie asked in a soft voice.

         “Oscar fucking Delancey is what happened,” he snarled. Looking closer at the boy, David could now see the beginnings of a blue and purple bruise forming on the boy’s right eye.

         Crutchie waited for Jack to elborate further, so he obliged.

         “Bastard picked a fight with me last night, so I gave him what was comin’ to him. I got off easy with three weeks of detention, ‘cause I was just ‘defendin’ myself’. Snyder thinks it’s a load of bullshit, though, thinks I started it myself,” the boy said, grim expression not letting up. 

         “What happened to Oscar, though?” one of the smaller boys, Elmer, asked.

          “Expelled,” Jack said, allowing a hint of a smile to play at his features.

         “Hey, you got pretty lucky, didn’t ya, David?” Crutchie smiled.

         “David?” Jack asked, eyes snapping up to meet David’s gaze, only just now noticing the boy’s prescence despite the fact that he was sitting right across from him.

         “He’s new,” Crutchie supplied.

         “Nice to meet ya, Davey, the name’s Jack Kelly,” the boy said, flashing him a wink and a smile.

         David took a moment to let his eyes wander over the boy in front of him. He could tell that he was a trouble maker without even having to speak with him, just based on his appearance. Going against one of the first rules of the code of conduct, David barely considered what the boy was wearing to be “in uniform”. The blazer was absent from his ensemble, his tie hung loosely around his neck, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, and from the little of Jack’s feet he saw when the boy entered the room, a pair of old, tattered sneakers took the place of the nice pair of dress shoes; the only aspect of the uniform that he hadn’t completely butchered were the khakis. His “uniform”, David supposed, was still technically the school’s uniform. However, the blatant disinterest in following the school’s rules didn’t sit well with David, and a look of displeasure overtook his features.

         “That’s not my name,” David said coldly.

          The boys at the table let out a prolonged “ooh” at the exchange, but the smile on Jack’s face didn’t falter. 

         “I’d watch my tongue if I was you, Davey,” Jack said, still smiling, but the look in his eyes said otherwise. 

         The surrounding boys laughed good-naturedly, and Crutchie looked as if he didn’t know what to do with himself, as if he was afraid of what would happen next. David stood his ground.

         “Why should I care what your opinion is?” he replied bitterly.

         The laughter died down to a few chuckles as the boys started to realized that this wasn’t a joke, and they began to look uncomfortable. 

         Jack opened his mouth to spit out what was likely to be another nasty reply, but was interrupted by the bell ringing, signaling the end of breakfast. 

         Crutchie grabbed Jack by his shoulder and immediately started dragging him towards the exits. “Okay, bye everyone! Good luck, Dave, I’ll see ya later!” he shouted behind him frantically, disappearing through the doors with Jack in tow. 

         “Need us to walk you to class?” one of the boys, Finch, asked, seemingly undisturbed by David’s cold attitude towards Jack. He gestured to himself and three other boys: Romeo, Specs, and JoJo.

         “That would be really nice of you guys, thank you,” David said politely.

         “Hey, don’t mention it! Where ya headin’ first?” JoJo asked.

         David pulled out his schedule, almost relieved to see that it was English, which he relayed to the rest of the group.

          “Alright, then let’s get goin’!” Romeo exclaimed, taking David by the hand and leading him and the rest of the boys out of the doors.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i know that i still haven’t gotten to what the summary is about but i will soon hshdjjdkgsgsgshhd
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoyed, have a lovely day/evening/night!!! :) follow me on tumblr @theoldwillweep!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m probably going to switch the pov around a bit at random, i apologize if it gets confusing!!!

         Bursting out of the cafeteria doors, still clutching onto Jack, Crutchie hissed “What the hell was that?!”

         “I know, right? I don’t know where you found that David kid, but he’s a real asshole—“

         “No, dumbass, I’m talking about you!” he exclaimed fervently, finally releasing his brother.

         “Wh-? _Me_?” Jack stammered out, offended. 

         “Yes, _you_!”

         “He started it!”

         “You sound like a child, Jack.”

         “It don’t matter, he still started it!”

         “Yeah, but _you_ kept it going, didn’t ya?”

         Jack stopped abruptly and turned around to face the boy, giving him a scowl but nothing more.

         His expression softened as he thought more about what Crutchie had said, scuffing the heel of his shoe against the floor. “Whatever, he’s still an asshole,” he pouted.

         The boys continued walking again. Before they could part ways to go to their separate classes, Crutchie said “Ya know, Dave’s a real nice guy! I’m sure he was just overwhelmed from meeting so many new people!”

         “Yeah, whatever,” Jack replied, uninterested. It still continued to astonish him how his brother could see the good in nearly  _everyone_.

         Giving Crutchie a small wave, he turned away from his brother to drag himself down the hallway that contained his classroom, dreading the day to come.

         Pushing open the door, he immediately made eye contact with Race, who was saving a seat for him.

         Maybe today would be okay after all.

* * *

         David carefully unpacked all of the supplies that he would need for class, gently placing them on the desk before him. The seat next to him was empty, something that he was incredibly grateful for.

         The door opened to reveal what David could only assume was the teacher: another grey, disinterested man.

         “Good morning, everyone, my name is Mr. Wiesel,” the man said flatly, clearly very excited to be teaching a class full of teenage boys at seven in the morning.

         “I will now be taking attendance,” the man sighed, delivery just as enthusiastic as his previous remark.

         He went down the roster, as David waited patiently for his name to be called.

         “Antonio Higgins.”

         “Present,” Antonio said, whose voice David quickly identified as Race; he found himself feeling very glad that “Race” wasn’t the boy’s real name.

         “David Jacobs.”

         “Here, sir,” he said politely.

         Wiesel nodded, continuing down the list of names.

         “Jack Kelly.”

         David’s blood ran cold.

         “Yeah, what of it?” he said, smirking, causing Race to snicker.

         David snapped his head to the left, almost immediately establishing eye contact with the boy.

         Jack smirked at him, but he ignored him, training his gaze back at the front of the room.

         Of course his favorite class had to be ruined.

         Not even fifteen minutes into class, David could barely focus.

         Jack had been talking to Race incessantly; he couldn’t even hear what they were blabbering about, but it was loud enough to distract him completely from every word out of Wiesel’s mouth.

         When fifteen minutes turned into thirty, and the chatter still hadn’t let up, David nearly snapped. However, he knew that it wouldn’t get him anywhere if he were to actually do so, so he kept all of his unpleasant thoughts to himself.

          _Whatever_ , David thought to himself. _It_ _will_ _be_ _over_ _soon_.

* * *

          After what seemed to be an agonizing amount of time, it _was_ over.

         The bell rang, and David immediately packed up his stuff and all but bolted out of the room; he didn’t want to risk Jack speaking to him. He’d had enough frustration for one day.  

         Taking another glance at his schedule, which he’d done so many times already that he probably had it memorized anyway, he saw that he had gym next.  

         Not ideal, but at least it was away from Jack Kelly.

* * *

          Wrong.

         When he walked out onto the field and saw Jack fucking Kelly, he wanted to scream. 

         He attempted to calm himself down.

          _It’s_ _only_ _two_ _classes_ , he reassured himself.

         Surveying the rest of the class, there was no one else that David recognized other than Jack and Race. Splendid.

         David stood idly while the gym teacher took attendance, and once again, could hear nothing but Jack and Race’s banter, grating on his ears. He felt that if he were to hear their voices any more, they would stay with him even if the two left, as if they were being burned into his brain.

        “Do whatever you want,” the teacher sighed in a monotone voice. “Supplies are in the shed.”

         David was beginning to think that there were _no_ teachers who wanted to be here, but he felt that it reflected the student body’s feelings perfectly.

         The boys broke off into groups: some walked the track, some made the journey over to the shed to gather sports equipment, and others just stood there.

         Opting for the easiest and most practical route, David began walking on the track.

         Sparing a glance at the rest of the boys on the track made him feel self-conscious, as they were all walking with at least _one_ friend, while David walked by himself.

         Something that he thoroughly enjoyed, however, was the silence that came with being alone. For the first time since that morning, he could no longer hear Jack and Race babbling needlessly to each other.

         He finally let himself have a moment of peace, but it was quickly distyrbed when his gaze drifted over to the the fence surrounding the field.

* * *

          Jack and Race made their way over to the fence, where a short, muscular boy was waiting for them.

         “Hey, Spottie,” Race said to the boy in a sing-song voice once they reached him.

         “You got what we asked you for, Conlon?” Jack asked.

         “Yeah, but it’ll cost ya.”

         “Oh, come on, Spottie, you know we ain’t got no money. What if I gave ya a big kiss instead?” Race teased.

         “Go fuck yourself,” Spot growled.

         “Just this once, Spot?” Jack pleaded.

         “You say that every damn time, Kelly.”

         “Yeah, but you still keep comin’ back,” Race countered.

         “Yeah, wonder why,” Jack said under his breath, earning him a light shove from Race.

         “Whatever,” Spot acquiesced, pulling out two packs of cigarettes. “You’s  owe me, though.”

         “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get yourself out of here, Spottie.”

         “Quit fucking calling me that,” the boy said as he disappeared back into the trees. 

         Jack chuckled at Race’s expense. Shoving the pack into his pocket before any wandering eyes could take notice, he turned around, coming face to face with David.

          Fuck.

         “What the hell was that?” he demanded, arms crossed.

         Jack wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt after listening to Crutchie that morning; maybe the boy wasn’t _really_ an asshole. However, looking at the boy, and hearing his borderline condescending tone, he made his decision.

         “Ain’t none of your business. Move,” he spat, moving to push past the boy. 

         David stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. “You’re gonna get in trouble for that, you know,” he warned.

         “No we ain’t. Look at the teacher, he don’t give a shit about nothing.”

         “Someone’s gonna find out eventually. I have half a mind to tell him myself.”

         “What’s stoppin’ ya, then?”

         David didn’t respond, but Jack could practically see the steam coming from the boy’s ears.

         Footsteps sounded behind them, causing them all to whip around to see who it was.

         “Whaddya want, Morris?” Race sneered, who was silent throughout the entirety of Jack and David’s quarrel.

         “I saw that whole exchange, fellas,” the boy jeered.

         David took a step back as Morris advanced on Jack and Race.

         “And whaddya gonna do? Tell on us?” Jack mocked.

         “Might just. Consider it a goin’ away present for Oscar,” he smirked, turning away.

         Jack grabbed his shoulder and whipped him back around. Reeling back, he landed a swift punch on the side of the boy’s face.

         Morris staggered back, bringing a hand up to where he’d been struck. “You’s gonna pay for that, Kelly,” he growled, pouncing on the boy.

         David stood awestruck as he watched the tussle unfold, while Race stood to the side laughing, egging on the fight. “Damn, I shoulda asked Spot to bring some popcorn instead!” he joked, letting out a low whistle.  

         “Alright, enough!” David shouted, barely audible over the insults and shouts of the two boys wrestling in front of him.

         He managed to pry Jack off of Morris, and was rewarded with Jack’s fist slamming directly into his nose. 

         Jack and Morris were silent as they took in what happened.

         “Shit, sorry, David, I—“ he started but was interrupted by David’s fist cutting up into his jaw.

         The fire returned to Jack’s eyes as he lunged at David, who fought back just as fervently. Race was practically going ballistic now, shouting encouragements at both boys.

         Somewhere in the midst of the fight, Morris slipped away unnoticed.

         “Oh, shit!” Race hissed, scampering away without saying anything further.

         Jack and David were undeterred, still continuing to try and land hits on the other.

         “Hey!” a voice bellowed, separating them easily. “What do you two think you’re doing?!”

         Jack and David looked up to see the gym teacher, who was glaring intensely at them.

         “What the hell does it look like?” Jack growled.

         “Shut up!” David whispered, hitting him in the back of the head.

         In the distance, they could see Snyder approaching.

         “What did I say this morning, boy?!” Snyder all but shouted as the gym teacher handed them off to him.

         Jack was silent as Snyder pushed him and David back towards the building.

         “I’m sure that Mr. Pulitzer will be happy to see you,” Snyder jeered, strengthening the grip that he had on Jack’s shoulder. “ _Again_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes!!!!
> 
> thank you again for reading, i hope you enjoyed!!!
> 
> on tumblr @theoldwillweep


	4. Chapter 4

         David, as calm as he could muster, took a seat in one of the two chairs placed in front of Mr. Pulitzer’s desk, while Jack was practically thrown into the one beside him by Snyder. 

         Jack opened his mouth to say something, probably a sarcastic remark directed at Snyder, but the man hushed him abruptly.

         Jack closed his mouth, gaze drifting down to his hands.

         David did the same as they waited for the headmaster to arrive. To pass the time, he picked at his fingernails, the silence in the room near deafening.

         The door burst open, and in stormed an older male, followed by a girl around the same age as Jack and David.

         “Father, really, I—“

         “Enough. Sit,” the man snapped, gesturing towards a chair that was sat in the corner of the office. The girl shut her mouth, obediently taking a seat in the chair with a sullen look on her face.

         “Mr. Kelly, to what do I owe the pleasure?” the man, presumably Mr. Pulitzer if the plaque sat upon his desk gave any indication, said curtly.

         Snyder answered instead, saying “He was caught fighting, _again_.”

         “I’m assuming this is the young gentleman on the receiving side of it,” he gestured to David.

         Snyder nodded, glaring daggers in Jack’s direction.

         “What is your name, son?” Pulitzer inquired.

         “David Jacobs, sir.”

         “Well, then, Mr. Jacobs, would you care to tell me what caused this fight?”

         “Jack punched me, sir.”

         “Ok, you _know_ that I didn’t—“ Jack started.

         “That’s quite enough from you, Mr. Kelly,” Pulitzer snapped.

         Standing up from his place behind his desk, Pulitzer said “Now, if you’ll excuse us, Mr. Jacobs, Mr. Snyder and I will be discussing with Mr. Kelly just how consequential his unruly acts can be.”

         Snyder took Jack’s arm in a firm grip and yanked him up, following Mr. Pulitzer out the door.

         The door was shut behind them, leaving behind only David and who David assumed was Pultizer’s daughter, from what little of the conversation he gathered when the two made their entrance.

         “Impossible, isn’t he?” the girl laughed.

         “Insufferable,” David snapped, rubbing his nose, considering himself lucky that it hadn’t broke when it got acquainted with Jack’s fist. 

         “He’s not _that_ bad,” the girl smiled, contradicting her previous statement.

         “I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said. “What makes you so sure, anyhow?”

         “I dated him for a while,” she smiled again, reminiscing.

         “Why?” David asked, face a scrunching up in disgust.

         “Like I said, he’s not so bad,” she laughed. “I’m Katherine, by the way.”

         “David,” he said, reaching out to shake her hand.

         “So I gathered,” she replied, taking his outstretched hand and giving it a firm shake. 

         “If you don’t mind me asking, what was going on between you and your father when you first came in here?” he asked.

         She sighed, taking a second to choose her words.

         “He’s been berating me, practically since I was _born_ , to take his place here as headmaster once he’s retired.”

         “I’m assuming that’s not what you want to do?”

         “Exactly,” she huffed.

         There was a slight lull in the conversation, before David asked “What _do_ you want to do?”

         Her face fell even further.

         “I want to be a reporter,” she sighed, and it hit David too close to home. Having the people who were supposed to love you the most, who cared for you your entire life, who were supposed to ensure your safety and well-being, not care for what you wanted for yourself. It hurt, and David understood that probably just as well as Katherine did.

         Plucking a sticky note and a pen from Pulitzer’s desk, David began scribbling on it.

         “What are you doing?” Katherine asked, leaning over in an attempt to catch a glimpse.

         David lifted the pen from the paper and returned it to where he’d found it, and handed the sticky note over to Katherine.

         “This is my- uh, phone number. For if you ever wanna.. talk...” he trailed off, cringing at how awkward he sounded. He didn’t withdraw his offer, however, knowing that he needed someone to talk to just as much as she did.  

         She took the sticky note from him, and eyed it for a short while before a soft smile spread across her face. 

         “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I—“

         Before she could finish her sentence, Pulitzer, Snyder, and Jack, burst into the room again, effectively silencing her.

         David quickly turned back around in his chair, awaiting further instruction from the headmaster.

         Jack took his seat once again, keeping his head down.

         “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Jacobs,” Pulitzer started. “While conferring with Mr. Snyder, we have decided that both you and Mr. Kelly will be serving one month of detention, as—“

         “What?!” David exclaimed, his head snapping up. He immediately regretted it, fearful that he’d receive further punishment for speaking out of turn.

         “I’m sorry, Mr. Jacobs, I’m aware that you were defending yourself, but it is explicitly stated in the code of conduct that there is to be no fighting of any sort.”

         “But I—“ he started, but cut himself off, knowing that he wouldn’t get anywhere by speaking against the headmaster.

         “You can show yourselves out, gentlemen,” Pulitzer said.

         David stood up slowly, practically shaking like a leaf. He’d never had so much as a teacher raise their voice at him, let alone detention.

         “Detention begins tomorrow in Ms. Larkin’s room!” Pulitzer called after them.

         Him and Jack exited Pulitzer’s office. Katherine gave him a small wave, but he was too caught up in his thoughts to notice.

         Walking in the direction of the dormitories, David was still trembling uncontrollably.

         “It’s just detention,” Jack scoffed, taking notice of the other boy’s current state.

         “Maybe for you,” David said under his breath.

         “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Jack growled, stopping in his tracks.

         “Nothing,” David lied, moving to push past Jack, but didn’t get very far before he was stopped by the boy.

         “Listen, we’s wouldn’t even be _in_ this situation if you hadn’t—“

         “Me?!” David exclaimed, rounding on him.

         “Yeah, you,” Jack said, taking his pointer finger and pushing David in the chest, making him stumble backwards. “If you’d just learn to keep ya big mouth shut, then ya wouldn’t end up in detention.”

         “You would have gotten caught anyways, for fighting with Morris,” David countered, crossing his arms.

         “Yeah, but you’s the one that drew attention to us,” he snarled, before the scowl dropped from his face.

         “Fuck,” he said, having a realization.

         “What?” David asked, admittedly a little curious.

         “What the hell happened to Morris?” he asked, turning to look at David.

         “He must have slipped away,” David said bitterly.

         “Looks like I’s gonna have to have a word with him, then,” he said menacingly, continuing his walk towards the dorms.

         “What is _wrong_ with you?” David asked exasperatedly. “Are you really looking to get yourself _more_ detention?”

         “Ain’t like I’m gonna go to ‘em anyway,” he chuckled, turning away.

         David opened up his mouth to say something, but nothing came out as he stood dumbfounded, watching Jack’s retreating figure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, i’m sorry for not updating in nearly 2 weeks, school has been hectic!!! and i’m sorry that this is so short! i’ll hopefully be updating again either tonight or tomorrow to make up for it. as always, i hope you enjoyed, and i hope you have a lovely day! :-)


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